OCT. 7, 2026, KENTWOOD, Mich. – Grand Rapids Community College soccer celebrated Sophomore Night with a dominant 4-0 women's victory, while the men's team battled Lake Michigan College to a scoreless draw Wednesday at home in conference action.
Women's Soccer Rolls to 4-0 Victory
The GRCC women's soccer team snapped a three-match losing streak in convincing fashion, defeating Lake Michigan College 4-0 to improve to 5-5-1 overall and 4-2 in conference play with two conference matches remaining.
The Raiders controlled the match from the opening whistle, outshooting the Red Hawks 28-3, including a commanding 20-1 advantage in shots on goal. GRCC also earned 15 corner kicks to just one for Lake Michigan.
Avery Dekker got the Raiders on the board just two minutes into the match, scoring from 20 yards out for her fifth goal of the season. Dekker struck again early in the second half, converting a penalty kick in the 49th minute to give GRCC a 2-0 advantage.
Sophomore Nadia Perez added to the lead in the 59th minute, scoring on an assist from Alessa Alber.
The Raiders completed the scoring in the 78th minute when Izabela Terpstra buried a rebound, with Valerie Rosas credited with the assist.
The victory also provided a memorable Sophomore Night celebration for Nyleese Bazan-Hernandez, Valerie Rosas, Olivia Dykstra, Hannah Pleiman, Linde Clark, Quincy Brown, Emily Meyers, Myah Lapekes and Nadia Perez.
First-year head coach Doug Barrow praised his team's performance and the contributions of the sophomore class.
"Tonight felt like our football. Full throttle, pressing together, communicating, and attacking with intent. At halftime, I challenged them to raise the urgency and commit to who we are. They came out and answered that challenge."
Barrow also reflected on what the sophomore class has meant to the program.
"These sophomores are a tremendous group to inherit. They show our freshmen what it means to represent this program, on the pitch and away from it. I love these girls like my own, and I'm grateful I get to coach them. To celebrate them with four goals and a clean sheet means a lot. But we're not saying goodbye yet. There's still football to play and plenty left for this group to go after."
Men's Soccer Battles to Scoreless Draw
The GRCC men's soccer team played Lake Michigan College to a 0-0 draw, moving to 5-4-3 overall and 2-2-1 in conference play with one conference match remaining.
The Raiders and Red Hawks played a tightly contested match, finishing with 11 shots apiece. GRCC, however, held an 8-3 advantage in shots on goal.
After combining for just five total shots in the opening half, both teams generated more opportunities after halftime, but neither could find the breakthrough.
Manuel Dipres and Lucas Bouma led the Raiders' attack, combining for seven shots, including five on goal.
Goalkeeper Ramon Lujano-Salto recorded three saves to preserve the shutout for GRCC.
Both GRCC soccer teams will return to action on Oct. 9, traveling to Jackson College for non-conference matches.
Interested in supporting GRCC Athletics? All donations can be done through
GRCC Athletic's Scholarship Fund and can specify what scholarship fund the gift is going to, such as the Hofmann scholarship. If you have any questions on how to support Athletics at Grand Rapids Community College, contact the Athletic Department via phone at (616) 234-3883 or email
grccathletics@grcc.edu. Any support is appreciated and goes towards assisting our student-athlete scholarship funds.
